Despite turmoil between Israel and Gaza that has killed more than 700 people so far, a Jewish family from Maryland has decided to move to an Israeli territory.

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For weeks, Israeli troops have battled Hamas militants in the Palestinian-controlled territory of Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Tel Aviv on Wednesday and is reporting progress in efforts to end the fighting.

The Brenner family, formerly of Pikesville, said despite it all, they're excited for their next phase of life. Moving to the Middle East during a war was not their intention, but as David and Helaine Brenner told 11 News via phone, a permanent move to the West Bank territory with their sons was something decades of fighting was not going to stop.

On Monday, the couple and their 13- and 11-year-old sons made it official. They landed in Israel, where they will live permanently despite all that's going in that region.

"We knew what we were getting into. We moved to Israel because of things that were going on that are a little bit bigger than us, I think," David Brenner said.

They wanted to be part of the Jewish homeland, something to which they had always felt a spiritual connection. It had been a dream of the couple's for years, and they wanted their boys to experience it.

The Brenners have been planning the move since 2011 but, coincidentally, they boarded a plane just as the fighting intensified this week. But they said that has made them more motivated to make the big move.

"We saw in America right when 9/11 came that there was this experience of unity. You know, people here (in Israel), even in the first couple of days, they found out what we did, and they're just very grateful to us," David Brenner said.

The family is staying with friends near Tel Aviv. Minutes after landing at the airport, they said they heard the rocket warning sirens and have heard them many more times since then.

"All of a sudden you hear a siren, and everyone stops what they are doing. They lock into a shelter with all the other people and wait a few minutes, and then it's business as usual," Helaine Brenner said.

In a week, the family will move to a Jewish settlement southwest of Jerusalem, which is in the West Bank, an occupied Palestinian territory just outside Israel's border.

"In a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, how much exposure, if any, do you have to Palestinians?" 11 News reporter George Lettis asked the Brenners.

"There is one very large grocery store that is on the main circle area where there's a gas station, and Israelis and Palestinians shop side by side," Helaine Brenner said. "This area particularly, people really want to live in peace."

David Brenner said he'll continue his own software business over there, while his wife, a former Jewish day school teacher, plans to return to the classroom.

The Federal Aviation Administration lifted its ban on U.S. airline flights to Tel Aviv early Thursday morning. The agency said it was working closely with the Israeli government to assess the danger of rocket attacks.